Draco, Hermione, And Larry The Purple Pidwink
by But Siriusly
Summary: D/Her 5th Yr. Draco & Hermione both had lonely summers. Draco discovers a pet pidwink. Will this fuzzy creature draw the two together? *Ch. 6: My, My, Master Malfoy* Posted!
1. Chapter One: Home Away From Home

Disclaimer: Harry Potter World = Not Mine! = Property of J.K. Rowling

My first fanfic peeps. I admit I am usually a Ron/Hermione shipper, but I like the alure of Draco/Hermione fics. So here goes! Please, please let me know what you think! Oh yeah, and I believe Chapter 2 is much better than Chapter 1, so don't just give up on me! Make it thru the intro and then decide what you think! Thanx!

Rated: PG-13 for language (and to give me some leeway, y'know, just in case...)

Chapter One: Home Away From Home

Draco Malfoy sauntered into the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, his long cloak billowing dramatically behind him. He had walked slowly behind the rest of the group of young students on the way from the carriages in order to make an entrance. Malfoys were always fashionably late, of course. The crowd of students now seated at the tables, sans first years, all turned to look at the latecomer. Draco flashed them his best wolfish grin as strode to take his seat at the front of the Slytherin table. He stole a glance at the Gryffindor table across the hall and was pleased to see scowls of the faces of The Dream Team. 

"Don't worry Potter! I have arrived, finally! I'm so sorry if you missed me!," Draco called across the room. He saw Harry and Ron just shake their heads and turn back around in their seats to face the third part of the team, Hermione, who just rolled her eyes. 

Draco gracefully took his seat next to Pansy Parkinson and across from Crabbe and Goyle just as Professor McGonagall entered the great set of doors, trailing a group of shivering and wide-eyed first years behind her. Draco watched with mild interest as the Sorting Hat was brought out and placed on the stool at the front of the room. He laughed quietly as the Hat began to sing, making all of the first years jump in surprise. Draco leaned on his elbow, picking up the gold spoon next to his plate and twirling it in his fingers. He was only half-listening to the Sorting Ceremony, clapping distractedly whenever the hat shrieked out, "SLYTHERIN!".          

Suddenly Draco realized the hat hadn't screamed anything for a few minutes and he glanced up. All of the new students had filled the empty spaces at the four tables and were looking quite relieved that they hadn't embarrassed themselves. Dumbledore was making his way to the front of the room. A hush fell over the chatty students as the Headmaster proceeded to give his beginning-of-term speech. Draco always found this to be quite a bore: "Here we are again… welcome back… no going into the forest… blah blah blah." 

Draco shifted his weight onto his other elbow and peered around the Hall. He was quite amused to catch sight of someone else who wasn't paying attention to what the "old coot" was rambling on about. Hermione Granger sat across the Hall, fiddling with her fork. Her eyes were wandering over the candles that floated above their heads. 

_The mudblood know-it-all is actually disrespecting a professor!_ thought Draco. 

Hermione's gaze slowly traveled down to meet Draco's. He grinned at her maliciously. 

_Caught you_. 

Hermione flinched and sat bolt upright, her unwavering stare now directed at the Headmaster. Draco could see her blush even from across the room. Just then Dumbledore announced, "Let the feast begin!". Draco quickly leaned back off of his plate just before the food appeared on the tables. He stole another glance at Hermione, but she was back to chattering with her friends. Draco snorted with amusement as he saw Ron dump a whole bowl of chicken drumsticks onto his plate while grabbing for the mashed potatoes at the same time with his other hand. Draco took one chicken drumstick from his own table using two fingers of each hand and began to bite at it carefully. He glanced back at the Gryffindor table and noticed that Hermione was mirroring his image. She carefully bit into her own drumstick as her eyes met Draco's. Draco swore he could see a hint of a smile cross her face before she dropped her chicken and hid her face in her goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Draaaaaco," a voice purred in his ear, "you're sooo quiet tonight!"

Draco groaned inwardly. _Pansy. And to think I had avoided her all summer only to have to put up with her on the first day back to school._

Draco swallowed his disgust and turned to Pansy, flashing her a smile that ended up coming out more like a wince, but Pansy didn't seem to notice. 

"I missed you so much over the holiday Drakey!" Pansy continued. 

Draco nearly choked. The way she mutilated his name made him cringe. 

"It's too bad you could never make it to my house when I invited you. Really, your father keeps you too busy!"

Draco mumbled an unintelligible response. _Stupid girl. She really can't take a hint_. Pansy had invited Draco to visit her home many times over the summer, but Draco had always made up an excuse not to come. He told her his father was "training" him over the holiday. Training for what, he never said. Pansy had automatically assumed that it had something to do with becoming a Death Eater. _Right, like I'd ever actually join those lunatics. _Actually Draco had had a thoroughly uneventful holiday. Not to mention lonely. Lucius Malfoy hardly spoke to his son anymore. He had realized that Draco was not yet willing to join in with the Death Eaters, even though the evil Lord Voldemort had seemingly risen again the previous year at the Triwizard Tournament. Lucius was convinced that his son would come around; all he needed was time. _Let him think that, at least he gives me space_, thought Draco.

Draco had spent most of his summer holiday in his cold tower room at Malfoy Manor reading anything he could get his hands on. He had answered the occasional owl from Crabbe or Goyle, though he could hardly read their chicken-scratch handwriting. The group had been losing touch over the last two years or so, and Draco knew Crabbe and Goyle only followed him around because they didn't know what else to do. Draco glanced across his table at the two idiots in question. Crabbe was chewing a large chunk of steak; some of the sauce dribbling down his chin. Goyle didn't look much different. Draco rolled his eyes and reached for a roll. 

Draco wasn't even listening as Pansy rambled on about her various excursions over the holiday. An occasional "Mm-hm" or "Yeah" seemed to keep the flaky girl satisfied that she had an enraptured audience. Draco's gaze wandered around the glowing Hall again. It inevitably landed on the back of a head full of flaming red hair. This was Ron, who was jabbering animatedly with Harry. His swooshing hand gestures indicated that the topic of conversation was their favourite: Quidditch. Draco shifted his gaze to the mop of bushy brown hair on the other side of the table. Hermione was smiling politely at her two friends as she slowly tore apart a bread roll in her hands. She nodded whenever Ron looked her way, but Draco could tell she wasn't really into the conversation. Suddenly Draco saw Hermione's eyes shift focus and they were gazing at eachother. _Again_, Draco thought. Hermione glanced down at Draco's hands, and he only then realized that he too was rolling pieces of his bread roll around in his palms. They both dropped their food and attempted to rejoin the conversations in which they were never really involved in the first place. 

But it was too late. The food was disappearing off of the plates and students were getting up from their seats. Draco took his place in the line heading towards the door, only mildly amazed to find that Pansy was still chattering on about her new dresses. 

Draco realized as he got closer to the door that he would be passing through it at the same time as the Granger girl, who straggled behind her comrades. A grin played at his lips as he quickened his pace. He caught up to Hermione and bumped into her just as she was trying to make her way through the door. Hermione turned roughly around but the crowd only forced her closer to her assailant.

"Excuse… Oh, Malfoy," Hermione muttered.

"Honestly, Granger, I know you can't keep your eyes off me tonight," Draco drawled loudly, "but _do_ try to keep your hands to yourself!" 

Hermione glared at him disgustedly. "Malfoy, I wouldn't touch that pompous arse of yours if my life depended on it." With that she turned on her heel and jogged to catch up to Harry and Ron, who were carrying on with their conversation halfway down the hallway and hadn't noticed a thing.

Ouch. Well, that was rather interesting, actually. I'd like to see how far I could push the little goodie-two-shoes, thought Draco. He had taken it all in stride and his grin hadn't wavered for a second.

Draco walked slowly down the near-empty hallway, turned a corner, and skipped down the steps to the dungeons, thankful to be returning to the Slytherin dorms. _Home at last._

* * *

Please, Peas, Peas N' Carrots! Review!!! I'll love you forever! Remember, Chapter Two is better, in my opinion!

But Siriusly


	2. Chapter Two: Enter Fuzzball

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter stuff, J.K. Rowling does. Too bad, so sad for me.  Okay, on to Chapter Two where the action starts!!!

Chapter Two: Enter Fuzzball

Draco lay awake in his bed in the Slytherin 5th-year boys dorm room. He rested the back of his head on his hands as he let his eyes wander over the folds in the thick green velvet curtains of his four-poster bed. They were partly opened so that he had a view of the arched moonlit window. A small smile rested on his lips. This was the first year his dorm had a window. The 5th-year dorm room was on the first floor of the castle overlooking the rocky shore of the lake below. A long, spiraling stone stairwell lead to the Slytherin common room in the dungeons. 

Draco was restless. He was so pleased to be back in his home hunting grounds that he couldn't think of sleeping. Suddenly a great "SNORK!" resonated from the bed across the room and Draco knew that Goyle had fallen into a deep sleep. Crabbe had been murmuring in his sleep for quite some time. Draco rolled his eyes and sat up, quickly and silently. He hadn't even undressed. He set his feet quietly on the floor, and his dragon hide boots made a soft squeaking noise as he stood up. His thick black robes made soft shuffling noises in the dark as Draco made his way stealthily to the door. Draco was hesitant to leave the presence of the soft moonlight for the dark stairwell, but he consoled himself with the thought that he would see it again in a few minutes. 

Draco slowly opened the creaking wooden door and made his way down the winding stairs. The Slytherin common room was empty, but enchanted green flames still leapt about silently in the great stone fireplace. Draco stepped silently over the thick floor rugs across the room to the door. He caught sight of himself in a mirror and was startled to see that his eyes appeared to be glowing green. His silver irises were always quick to pick up sharp colors, and the flames danced in his eyes. His hair was shining silver as though the moonlight had been trapped in it. _Silver and Green, a true Slytherin_, Draco thought with a smirk.

Draco tore his stare from the ornate mirror and pulled up the hood of his cloak. Draco opened the heavy wooden door that lead to the dungeons of Hogwarts castle and leaned into the empty hallway. He strode with cat-like grace towards the front of the castle and out the doors.

* * *

Draco took a deep breath of the crisp night air. The dew on the grass sparkled with moonlight and gave the grounds an enchanted appearance. Draco shuffled across the yard towards the edge of the lake. He wanted to see the moonbeams dance across the surface of the water. As he reached the edge of the lake he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He felt like someone was watching him. He turned back towards the castle, but all the windows were dark. He figured it was nothing and turned to make his way to the lake. Just then a movement caught his eye on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Something about the size of a cantaloupe was bouncing and rolling across the lawn in Draco's direction. Draco was frozen in place with curiosity. As the bouncing/rolling object came nearer Draco could hear a strange squeaking noise. It sounded like rubber shoes squeaking on a wooden floor. Suddenly the little round object stopped bouncing and seemed to turn around and face the forest. That is, if it did have a face at all. It sat for a few seconds, apparently listening for something, and then gave an almighty shriek and leapt off of the ground. In three great leaps it smacked right into a thoroughly confused Draco. Draco was so shocked he fell backwards and tripped over his robes. The little round object landed on Draco's chest and trembled.

Upon closer inspection Draco noticed that this thing was indeed some sort of animal, and a very frightened one at that. It was round and furry with four tiny little round feet. Its ears were pointy like a cat's but had inch-long tufts of soft fur hanging off of the ends. The creature had a small pointed nose just below its large shining eyes. 

Draco's eyes widened and he began to scoot backwards across the grass. The creature let out a frightened squeak and tried to burrow itself under Draco's robes. 

Draco finally managed to speak: "What the hell are _you_?!"

The animal stopped moving and peered up into Draco's eyes. The strange silence was suddenly broken by a low growling noise coming from the Forest. The creature emitted a low whining noise and began trembling again. Draco leapt to his feet, dropping the miserable animal the to ground. The stunned fuzzball squeaked in terror and started jumping at Draco, but only managed to make it to his thighs. Draco scanned the edge of the Forest with his eyes and suddenly caught sight of a flash of movement. A pair of red eyes peered out at him through the dark branches. The creature's squeaks were getting louder and it was jumping with more and more insistence. 

_Oh shit…_

The beast in the forest growled again deeply and started to prowl onto the lawn. Draco turned tail and began to run full speed at the castle. Draco realized in terror that something had grabbed onto the back of his robe. With a quick glance he saw that the cantaloupe-creature had sunk its teeth into the hem of his robe and was hanging on for dear life. 

_Oh for God's sake…_

Draco turned around and grabbed the little fuzzball, keeping his eyes on the edge of the Forest. The growling beast was nowhere in sight, but Draco wasn't going to take any chances. He tucked the round creature under his arm the same way a chaser would grip a quaffle in a game of Quidditch. It squeaked again, but this time Draco was sure there was a bit of delight in the noise. 

Draco slammed through the doors into the castle and turned sharply down the stairs. He raced down the dungeon hallway and suddenly caught site of a creature pacing in the middle of it. A creature with red eyes. A relatively _small_ creature with red eyes. When the animal let out a small hiss Draco realized that it was just Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's evil cat. 

Draco hadn't stopped running and he took a running leap over Mrs. Norris and turned the last corner at the end of the hall. He shouted "Cunning!" at the metal suit of armor that stood at the wall at the end of the corridor. At the sound of the password, the suit of armor came to life and reached out and pulled a heavy metal ring that hung from the stone wall. The door to the Slytherin common room appeared and was slowly opened. Draco dashed through it and pulled it quickly shut behind him. He could hear the suit of armor grunt indignantly outside as it was pulled sharply into the door.

Now feeling entirely safe, Draco leaned panting against the door. When he had caught some of his breath he paced quickly across the room, up the stairs, and into his dorm room. 

The room was as he left it, except that Goyle was now snoring loudly. Draco rushed to his bed, flopped down and pulled the curtains shut in one quick motion. He threw the cantaloupe-creature away from his body, and it rolled squeaking into the pile of pillows. Draco sat back against the footrest of his bed, watching the pillows intently, waiting for the creature to appear again. It suddenly stuck out its pointy little snout and opened its mouth, letting out a sharp squeal that sounded uncannily like a high-pitched cheer of "Yaaaay!". 

Draco flinched and pushed his back into the footboard. The creature wobbled out onto the bed, batting it's long eyelashes at Draco. Draco pulled his wand out of his pocket and muttered, "Lumos". The space of his bed inside the curtains filled with light and Draco set the wand down next to him. 

Draco and the fuzzball regarded eachother with obvious curiosity. Draco observed that the creature's fur was a deep violet color, and what showed of its skin was more of a lavender color. It blinked its immense violet eyes at him and cocked its head to one side. Draco realized that the little animal somewhat resembled a hedgehog, but it was much softer and more colorful. 

"Hmmm," Draco sighed.

"Hmmm," the little creature squeaked. Draco let out a short laugh and the creature wiggled with delight. It quickly bobbled its way across the bed into Draco's lap. It snuggled in, making soft, squeaky purring noises.

"Oh, so I guess you think you're staying with me now, hm?"

The animal snuggled deeper into Draco's robes and closed its eyes.

"Hey fuzzball, I'm not a pillow, that is," Draco said, pointing to the pile of silver and green pillows at the head of the bed. The animal raised its sleepy head and peered suspiciously at the pillows for a few seconds, turned its face towards Draco, and then snuggled back down to nap. 

"No, no, n-n-n-no. You're not sleeping there."

Draco hopped up and flung the creature towards the pillows. It stared at him for a second, the hurt obvious in its large eyes. But the animal quickly got over the insult and curled up on a large green pillow, shoving its nose under a tuft of fur. 

"Good fuzzball," Draco told it.

Draco yawned and stripped out of his clothes, throwing them carelessly on the floor. He pulled back the thick green comforter of his bed and revealed the shiny silver silk sheets underneath. Wearing only a pair of black cotton boxers, Draco slid into bed. He rolled over onto his side and studied the furry ball that lay on his pillow. 

"Tomorrow I'm going to find out what the hell you are," he murmured. 

The only answer Draco received was the soft purring that must have been the little creature's snores. 

* * *

Hermione Granger had been peering out of the window of her 5th-year girls dorm room in the Gryffindor Tower. She had been gazing at the moonlit grounds when she caught sight of a black hooded figure heading across the yard towards the lake. She watched curiously as the figure halted near the Forbidden Forest. 

_Better not be a Gryffindor student out after curfew!_ she had thought. _Imagine losing points on the first day back!_

She had become even more curious when the hooded figure was suddenly joined by a small, round bouncing figure. As the hooded person fell backwards, his hood fell off to reveal a full head of gleaming platinum hair. 

_Malfoy! I should have known!_

Hermione toyed with the idea of alerting Flich to the fact that a student was out of bed, but she became worried when Malfoy suddenly dashed towards the castle like demons from the pit of hell were on his tail. Hermione could see nothing that would have frightened Malfoy. What confused Hermione the most was when Malfoy turned around and grabbed the small bouncing object from the ground and tucked it under his arm, taking it into the castle with him. 

_That's curious…_

* * *

Pleeeeease Revieeew! Let me know what you think! Good/Bad? Keep/Trash? Lemme know! Thank you!

But Siriusly


	3. Chapter Three: I Dub Thee...

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Like Characters are not mine. I made up the little fuzzball tho!

Chapter Three: "I Dub Thee…"

            The alarm clock went off in the Slytherin 5th-year boys dorm. Draco groaned and stretched his legs. He could hear the other boys in the room pulling open their curtains and getting ready for the first day back at classes.

Just five more minutes… 

Suddenly Draco realized there was a warm weight pressed against his chest. His eyes snapped open. Staring back at him were two huge sparkling violet eyes inches from his face. Draco gasped in surprise and sat straight up in bed. The owner of the eyes in question tumbled down into his lap, making indignant little squeaking noises.

            Then Draco remembered: The strange little purple cantaloupe-hedgehog-creature. 

"Geez, you psycho little Fuzzball!" Draco whispered harshly. "Haven't you ever heard of giving someone their personal space?! Especially just before they wake up!"

            The Fuzzball didn't seem to care what Draco was saying. It was bouncing around happily in his lap, its squeaking noises getting louder by the second.

            "Shhh!" Draco hissed as he clamped his hand over the Fuzzball's mouth.

            "Draco, are you getting up?" Goyle's voice came from across the room.

            "Yeah, yeah, I'm going," Draco mumbled, trying to sound like he was just barely awake.

            _Oh no, what am I going to do with you all day? I have classes, and I can't just leave you here. The house elves will find you… or worse, you'll wander off and someone else will find you._

            Draco was running out of time. He picked up the Fuzzball and stuffed it back into the pile of pillows.

            "Okay," he whispered, "You stay here while I take a shower. Got that? Stay? Stay!"

            As soon as Draco took his hands away the Fuzzball started to waddle out of its little hiding place.

            "No, no, no! Stay! Stay!" Draco hissed.

            The Fuzzball must have realized that he wasn't supposed to be making any noise, because he just stared quizzically back at Draco, his head cocked to one side. Suddenly the Fuzzball's ears perked up. He shuffled back into the space between the pillows with what appeared to be a contented little smile on his face. He closed his eyes and pulled his ears down to cover them.

            Draco let out a short laugh. _He thinks it's a game of hide and seek! Weird little fuzzball_.

            Draco quickly jumped through the space between his curtains and headed for the shower room, grabbing his robes along the way. "Geez Draco, a little anxious to get back to school, are we?" one of the other 5th-year boys shouted as Draco sprinted down the short side hall and into the showers.

            When Draco had finished showering and dressing, he came stumbling back down the hall to his bed. The room was empty as all of the other boys had headed towards the Great Hall for breakfast. Draco flung back the velvet curtains around his head. Sure enough, the Fuzzball was still huddled in the pile of pillows, the same little smile plastered on its face. 

            Draco leaned down on the tousled sheets and whispered, "Found you!". The Fuzzball whipped back its ears and let out an excited little squeak. Draco laughed and pulled the creature into his arms. 

            "You know, you seem to have forgotten pretty quickly that you almost got eaten alive by that beast in the Forest last night!" Draco reprimanded the animal. It was wiggling happily in Draco's folded arms, oblivious to the fact that it wouldn't even be alive had it not been for Draco. 

            "Well, I'm not usually one for breakfast anyway. I don't think anyone will miss me if I just skip it this morning." Draco sat down on the bed, petting the Fuzzball. 

            "I don't suppose I can keep calling you 'The Fuzzball' now, can I? I should think of a name for you… hm?"

            The Fuzzball regarded Draco with its curious violet eyes.           

            "Well, I don't know many cutesy names for little furry creatures, and there's no way I'm gonna call you Muffin or Fluffy or any of those horrid names Muggles have for their poodles."

            The Fuzzball seemed perfectly happy that he would not have to be given either of those names. It waited patiently as Draco decided its fate.

            "How about… Lawrence?"

            Fuzzball cocked its head and Draco could have sworn it raised a non-existent eyebrow. It didn't seem sure if that was really something it wanted to be called.

            "Well fine, Larry for short." Draco decided.

            Larry smiled and wiggled his behind. Draco was sure that if Larry had a tail, it would be wagging.

            "Alright, Larry…" At the sound if his name Larry's ears perked up. "I can't leave you here all day, so I have no other choice but to bring you with me to classes." Draco frowned down at the creature. _I hope this doesn't turn out to be more trouble than it's worth…_

Larry suddenly became quite still, directing his full attention at Draco.

            "Oh, so is that your way of telling me you'll be a good little fuzzball?" Draco questioned suspiciously. Sighing, Draco ran his fingers through his thick blonde hair. "Alright then. You can stay inside my robe." Draco stood up and pulled open his robe, revealing a rather large inner pocket. He slid Larry inside of it so that just the creature's face and two tiny front feet were poking out. When he let the robe fall back into place, he could feel the lump that was Larry resting against his flank just above his right hip. 

            "You gonna be okay in there?" Draco asked. Larry let out a short happy squeak in response. "Alright then, here goes." Draco snatched up his wand and walked carefully to the door.

* * *

            The Great Hall was very noisy, even for the first day of classes back at Hogwarts. The mail had just arrived, and hundreds of owls were swooshing around above the four long tables as Draco entered. He felt like all eyes were on him as he sauntered gracefully toward the Slytherin table. Sitting down, Draco nonchalantly glanced around the room, trying to see if anyone was giving him curious looks. Fortunately, all of the students were focused intently on either their food or their mail. Suddenly Draco caught sight of a pair of bright cinnamon eyes staring in his direction. Hermione Granger. She was looking over Draco with curiosity, but she quickly glanced away when Draco caught her stare.

            _She can't possibly tell that I'm hiding something… can she? No, she's just a mudblood, she has no special intuition._

Draco was thankful that Larry was keeping surprisingly still for being such an energetic creature. _What kind of creature is he anyway? I'll have to find out today, check the library perhaps._

Draco returned the stiff greetings of his Slytherin classmates as he nibbled on one of the last donuts. He pulled out his course schedule from one of the outside pockets of his robe.

            _Oh bloody hell_, Draco thought as he scanned the list. He was surprised and dismayed to see that almost all of his classes were doubled with the Gryffindors. Arithmancy, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures… _Hey, that should come in handy,_ Draco thought, patting the place where Larry hid in his robe. Larry got so excited over this small gesture that he let out an almighty squeak of delight. Draco felt his cheeks turning red as a line of students heading towards the doors turned to see what the strange noise could have been. Thinking quickly, Draco feigned a small sneeze, which of course sounded nothing like Larry's squeak, but seemed to satisfy the young students. All except for Hermione, who stood staring at Draco, her eyes squinted in concentration. Draco tensed as he saw the girl's gaze travel down his robe. 

            "You'd better be careful Granger. I shudder to think what your boyfriend the Weasel will do if he catches you checking out another guy. Although with me, really, who could blame you?" Draco sneered at Hermione and ran his fingers through his hair. She was still staring at the hardly noticeable lump in Draco's robe, however. Draco saw a glint come into the girl's eyes as she looked up at him. A small smile played on her lips as she said quietly, "See you in Arithmancy, Draco. You and… well…" she leaned closer and whispered so only he could hear, "you and your bouncing little friend."

            Draco hesitated a moment. _How could she possibly know?!_ He attempted to recover himself: "'Bouncing little friend'? Honestly, the pet names you girls make up for, *ahem*" Draco raised his eyebrows suggestively.

            Hermione rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean Draco." With these last words Hermione bustled away, heading towards the Arithmancy classroom. Draco let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding in. Looking around, he noticed that almost all of the students had left the Hall and the food had vanished from the plates.

            Larry started the wiggle around inside his little pocket. Draco rubbed his hand over the lump, whispering "Shhh!". Larry calmed down a bit. _God, I hope I can last all day like this_, Draco thought as he hopped up from the table, grabbing his book bag and rushing out of the Hall. _But how can I with that nosy mudblood staring down my back all day?_

            Draco turned a corner of the hallway in time to see Hermione's cohorts, Ron and Harry, heading the opposite way down the hall. _That's right, they decided they couldn't handle all of the scary number charts in Arithmancy. The little gits would rather put up with Trelawny rambling on and predicting deaths, how fun. Well, that's a plus, two less Gryffindors I have to put up with. _Draco skidded into the small classroom just in time. The last students were taking their seats. Draco strode to the front of the classroom, searching for an open chair. He found it: the last one. Right on the edge of the first table. Draco sat down quickly just as the bell rang. Only then did he turn to meet the classmate who occupied the chair next to him. Hermione Granger scowled under her thick frizzy brown curls. 

            Draco pulled his robe closer to his body to make sure the flap didn't hang out to reveal his secret pocket. Larry was wiggling excitedly inside of it. Draco tried to act normal, but he felt as though Hermione could see right through his disguise. Larry started to squeak softly. So softly that Draco believe he was the only one who could hear, but he was dismayed to see Hermione's face light up in a knowing smile. Draco was almost tempted to smack that smile off her face, but instead he hugged the quivering little creature closer to his body, praying that it would shut up.

* * *

tbc

Okay, I do have a general idea where this is going now. It will get to be more Draco/Hermione later on, I promise. Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed! You make me so happy! Glad you all thought Larry was so cute, cuz so do I! 

Thank you: 

Hermione

Smoo

Fearless Kitty

Sienna of Lothlorien

Solfides

Kelsey The Crow

pogogirl52

Gryffindor Quidditch Angel

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Mrs. Amanda Malfoy

Slinky

PLEASE REVIEW, again or for the first time! Let me know what you honestly think!!!!

Love always,

But Siriusly


	4. Chapter Four: All of Ten Hours

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Harry Potter and/or like characters. They are property of the highly talented J.K. Rowling. Larry's mine, mine, mine.

Sorry this took a while. I'm a busy junior in high school, and, well ~squinting at March calendar~, it's gonna be a long month. I'll try my best to keep updated. This point was difficult, I had two directions in which I could have lead this story, and I had to choose one. This is it:

Chapter Four: All of Ten Hours

            Draco had an amazing talent for covering up his true emotions. He forced his usual high-and-mighty smirk onto his face and slouched apathetically onto the table of the Arithmancy classroom. Inside he was squirming with discomfort. He had been surprised and relieved when Hermione's attentions had quickly shifted from Draco's pocket to the front of the room when Professor Vector had entered. Hermione had not given Draco a second glance throughout the entire lecture. He glanced at her from time to time, always expecting to catcher her eyeing his robe. But she was always hunched down over her large notebook, diligently taking notes. 

            Draco glanced up and was surprised to see that the class had ended, the professor had returned to her office, and the students had all filed out through the door. All except for one Hermione Granger. She was rushing to finish her third page of notes, using her free hand to shove her textbooks into a pile. Draco's mouth curled into a half-grin when he noticed that she murmured to herself as she wrote. 

            A loud SLAM! made Draco jump. Hermione had accidentally shoved one of her books onto the floor while attempting to grab another. Before he could think about what he was doing, Draco was off of his stool and kneeling on the floor, reaching under the table for the fallen text. He pulled at the corner of the book with the tips of his fingers, sliding it back under the table towards his knees. Only then did he realize what he was doing. Draco slowly glanced back up at the table, hoping Hermione was focused too intently on her notes to take notice of his apparent act of kindness. No such luck. Hermione peered down at him, confusion evident in her amber eyes. 

            "What are you gawking at, Mudblood?" Draco snapped, making Hermione jump. He quickly tossed the heavy book up in Hermione's face and jumped to his feet. As Draco turned swiftly on his heel he could see Hermione jump in surprise as the book flew in her face. As she fumbled with the heavy text she dropped her quill to the floor. Draco grabbed his things off of the table and strode defiantly to the door. Just as he reached the door, Draco heard Hermione gasp, followed by a loud scrape and clatter. Confused, Draco turned around. The scene that met his eyes made Draco drop his books.

            Hermione was on the floor; apparently she had been retrieving her quill. She was scooting quickly backwards on her palms and kicking out with her feet. She had run into her chair and sent it clattering to the floor. A round, spiky purple ball was clawing his way up the front of Hermione's robes. Larry's eyes were wide and his mouth was open, revealing a row of small, sharp teeth. _Oh no_, Draco thought, _he must've crawled out while I was on the floor! _

Draco began to rush back to the front of the room just as Larry made his way onto Hermione's chest. Hermione froze. From what Draco could see from behind, her face was mere inches from Larry's.

            Draco skidded to a stop beside Hermione. Her eyes were wide with shock. She flinched when the little creature on her chest let out a squeal. Larry happily proceeded to lick Hermione's face. Hermione laughed and sighed with relief.

            Draco knelt down and grabbed Larry away from Hermione. He angrily shoved the fuzzball back into his inner pocket. 

"Hey, be careful with the little guy!" Hermione admonished. The disapproval evident on her face quickly gave way to wonder. "Malfoy… what… what _is_ that?"

Draco scowled. "I thought you knew everything, Granger. Anyway, it doesn't matter to you what it is, except that it's _mine_."

Hermione's face transformed into a scowl that matched Draco's. "Don't be so childish Malfoy, I wasn't going to take it away from you. Besides, it's not really _yours_ is it? I saw it come to you out of the Forest last night."

_So that's how she knew, the little spy._

"He's mine because I say he's mine. Malfoys get what they want."

With that remark Draco turned quickly to leave the room for the second time. Hermione rolled her eyes and got up off the floor, dusting herself off. As Draco snatched up his books off the floor he heard Hermione mutter, "Prat."

* * *

_Great, juuuuust great,_ Draco thought, his expression stormy as he walked briskly down the hall. _That secret lasted all of ten hours_. To make things worse, Draco realized that his next class was Care of Magical Creatures with the Gryffindors. Oh joy. Larry was blessedly quiet in Draco's pocket, but that didn't stop Draco from muttering curses at the creature as he made his way out the doors and across the yard to Hagrid's hut. 

"Stupid animal," Draco huffed as he joined the group of students mingling outside of the paddock. 

"Well, Malfoy, that was exactly what _I_ was thinking when I saw _you_."

Draco scowled at the smirk on Ron Weasley's face. Draco put on a blatantly fake smile and drawled, "Good morning Weasley. Bit chilly this morning, wouldn't you say? Hope your ankles don't get too cold in that cloak, seeing as it's a good five inches too short. Why didn't you just buy a new one? Oh, wait…"

            Ron made an attempt to leap at Draco, but Harry grabbed the back of his cloak, holding the angry boy back. Draco laughed, "Your face is as red as your hair, Weasley."

"Sod off, Malfoy," said Harry, his voice reflecting his impatience. Draco decided to do as he was told as he saw Hagrid lumber out of his hut.

            Draco was standing by himself outside of the group when he heard a voice whisper closely behind him, "Perhaps Hagrid could be of some help with your bouncy little friend."

            Draco spun around to face Hermione. He took a step so that he was standing toe-to-toe with the girl. His skin was pulled tight over his face as he scowled at her. Hermione's amber eyes widened in surprise as they met Draco's fierce silver ones. "Listen Granger," Draco breathed through his clenched teeth, "You _will_ keep this quiet. You will not tell a soul about what you saw today, or I will have my father get you thrown out of this school so fast, you won't know what hit you."

            Hermione stared at Draco in stunned silence. Suddenly a laugh escaped her throat, making Draco knot his eyebrows in confusion. "Goodness, Malfoy, no reason to get so worked up over a little fuzzy-wuzzy!" Draco hated the way she cooed the words "little fuzzy-wuzzy." 

            "Just stay out of my business, Mudblood. I don't need any help; not from you and certainly not from that idiot half-giant," Draco hissed.

            Hermione wasn't joking anymore. "Insult Hagrid again," Hermione hissed threateningly, "and I will go straight to the Headmaster about your disallowed pet on school grounds."

            Draco suddenly became aware of how close his face was to Hermione's, just as he became aware that all of the other students were watching the exchange with rapt anticipation. The students couldn't hear anything that was said between the Slytherin and the Gryffindor, but the pairs' expressions told the whole story. Draco's countenance wavered, causing Hermione to smirk. She whispered, "Ahh, so the high and mighty Malfoy _is_ worried about what other people think."

            Hermione laughed softly at the worried expression on Draco's face. Draco was amazed to find himself at a loss for words. The amused students couldn't see it, but Hermione had reached around Draco's side and slid her hand down his cloak. She wrapped her fingers around a fold of fabric on the outside of the pocket where she knew the fuzzball was hiding. She gave the cloak a playful tug and raised an eyebrow knowingly at Draco. 

            Draco gasped and shuffled backwards on his feet. The crowd sighed in disappointment as Hermione turned and made her way quietly over to her group of friends. When they gave him curious looks, Draco narrowed his eyes at the students, and the matter was quickly dropped. Hagrid was on his way to the paddock, calling back for his students to follow.

            Draco was mentally kicking himself as he shuffled behind the students. The Mudblood had got the best of him. 

            As Draco neared the paddock behind Hagrid's hut, he could hear the sounds of hissing and scratching coming from a large crate. He could feel Larry start to tremble inside his pocket. _I should chuck the little ball of trouble in there with that creature,_ Draco thought. The idea was fleeting, though, and Draco sighed as he leaned against the wooden paddock railing. He hated himself for thinking that about his new pet. Larry was, after all, the closest thing Draco had had to a friend in a long time, perhaps ever. _How pathetic am I? My closest friend is a squeaking, squealing, purple, er… fuzzball_. Draco's self-pity must have showed on his face. He caught sight of Hermione looking at him with what appeared to be concern, but she quickly turned away and acted like she was listening intently to Hagrid's rambling. Draco rolled his eyes in exasperation and pulled himself up onto the paddock railing. He casually gathered the ends of his cloak into his lap, holding the trembling little creature close to his body. He tried to soothe the poor thing while making it look like he was bored and brushing lint off of his cloak. Apparently Hermione could see right through him, as Draco caught a small smile turn up the corners of her mouth.

* * * 

tbc

~Whew~ Okay, took me a while. It's not even a very long chapter really, but it took so long. Well, I'll try my hardest to write the next chapter tomorrow, seeing as it's Sunday and too snowy to go anywhere. Thank you to my wonderful reviewers, especially Poetic Phoenix who pointed out minor mistakes in my earlier chapters. I'll try to fix them when I get a chance. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, so I try not to let mistakes slide, thanks for alerting me to them.

Thanks again for reviewing, I love you all. You make me so happy! ^_^

If Draco seems a bit too angry in this chapter, it's probably cuz I projected my anger onto him. Poor guy. I went to see "Queen of the Damned" and got so mad that they screwed up the story line so bad. Did they read the bloody book?! Now the Harry Potter movie, that's a good adaptation. I can't wait for the next one to come out! Okay, now I'm rambling…

Anyway, please REVIEW!!! I gotta know what you peeps think, so I know what to change and what to keep! I will love you forever if you REVIEW!

But Siriusly


	5. Chapter Five: Draco Lost In Hermione's T...

Disclaimer: Don't own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, but Larry is mine, aaaaall mine.

A/N: Again, sorry this took so long. Let me clarify: I am not "IN Junior High School"; I am a "JUNIOR" in High School. As in 11th grade. As in one year left til I graduate. Wooohah! Yeah, okay. Alright. Here's Chapter Five, hope ya like it! Thanks to all who've reviewed!

Chapter Five: Draco Lost In Hermione's Territory

Hermione felt very lonely, even though she was surrounded by all of her friends. The Great Hall was echoing with the chatter of excited students, but Hermione herself was silent. Harry and Ron sat opposite of her and were engrossed in their conversation. Hermione was dismayed to realize that she didn't even care what they were talking about. Over the summer, Harry had stayed at Ron's house, and the two had grown closer than ever. It seemed they had forgotten about Hermione.

            Harry and Ron were still Hermione's friends of course, and they would always stand up on her side. But Hermione found that they just weren't much to talk to anymore. 

            It surprised Hermione even more to realize that the only thing she found interesting this year was Draco Malfoy. 

_No, no, not Malfoy _himself_; Malfoy's _little creature_. Yes, that's all._

Hermione pretended to pick at her food as she let her eyes wander around the hall. Sure enough, there was Draco, discreetly slipping pieces of bread inside his cloak. Hermione watched with growing interest as Draco frowned and pulled the bread back out, uneaten. He then picked up a grape and slipped it inside. That too, came back untouched. Draco was getting frustrated. Hermione noticed that there was a small pile of food next to his plate; everything from carrots to apples to pieces of lettuce. It appeared that the little purple fuzzball was a picky eater.

"'Myknee, what're you grinning at?"

Hermione hadn't even realized that she had been smiling. She let the grin fall off of her face as she turned her glance to Ron. He and Harry had stopped talking and were looking at her curiously.

"What were you looking at?" Harry asked as he turned around in his seat, craning his neck too see across the tables. Ron, who was much taller than Harry, just turned his head around, eying the Slytherin table across the room.

"The Slytherins?" Ron asked in disbelief, "I don't see any Slytherin that would ever make me smile like that." Just then a wide grin broke out on Ron's face. "Well, except Malfoy." Hermione felt a blush start in her cheeks and prayed the boys wouldn't notice.

"M-Malfoy? Why Malfoy" Hermione asked innocently.

"Malfoy the bouncing ferret, of course." Ron answered, his grin becoming more of a smirk. Ron and Harry burst out laughing at the fond memory, while Hermione giggled with relief.

"But really Hermione, what was so funny?" Harry asked.

"Oh,… it was just… Goyle. He had food all over his face. That's all." Hermione struggled to look casual.

"Well that's an every-day thing now, isn't it?" Ron laughed, scraping the last bits of food off of his plate.

"Hey Ron," Harry said, "We've got an hour to kill until we have to put up with Snape." 

Ron scowled with disgust, "Ack, Potions. Thanks for reminding me, Harry."

"Yeah, I know. Anyway," Harry continued, "Do you want to go out on the Quidditch field and practice a bit? You're still going to try out for Chaser, aren't you?"

Ron suddenly looked a bit nervous. "Yeah, I am." He sighed resignedly. "All right, let's go. You coming 'Myknee?"

Hermione glanced to the entrance of the Great Hall in time to see Draco leave and turn down the hallway in the opposite direction of the front door. "No," she replied, "You guys go ahead. I'm going to the library, I'll catch up with you in Potions."

"All right," Harry said as he and Ron got up from the table. Ron rolled his eyes and muttered something to the effect that "only Hermione would spend her lunch hour in the library on the first day of school." Hermione smiled at them as they walked away, casually gathering up her book bag.

* * *

            As soon as Hermione walked through the heavy doors to the library she knew there was only one other student in the huge room. The room was as quiet as a tomb. Even the librarian, Madame Pince, was absent from her post near the door. Hermione slowly and silently closed the door behind her. An amusing sight met her eyes.

            Draco Malfoy was standing at the ends of the rows of shelves. He had his back to her, but Hermione knew it was Draco. His long arms hung at the sides of his black cloak. His head was tilted back and the fluffy edges of his platinum hair were skimming across his hood as he turned his head slowly from side to side. He was staring in disbelief at the dozens of rows of shelves that towered before him.

            Hermione watched as Draco's fingers began to play nervously with the edges of his cloak. He sighed audibly and started to walk to his right. He stopped abruptly and changed directions. Then he stopped altogether and leaned over to peer down the long aisle before him.

"Looking for something, Draco?" Hermione giggled.

Draco jumped and whipped around, his cloak billowing around him then wrapping around his knees. His eyes were wide with surprise as he nervously licked his lips.

"Just…" he started, but then gave up and glanced at the floor. With furrowed brow he gazed up at the bookshelves again. 

"You look lost, Draco. Here, let me help you." Hermione set her books down on a table and started to walk briskly in Draco's direction. Draco regained his composure and crossed his arms, glaring at her as if to say he didn't need any help.

"Don't look at me like that, I know what you're here for." Draco kept his arms crossed defiantly before him, but his sharp gaze softened a bit and he began to look worried.

"Come on," Hermione said, walking swiftly past Draco, "I want to know what that animal is, too."

Draco stared at her in disbelief and dropped his arms to his sides.

"Come on," Hermione called over her shoulder, "You're in _my_ territory now."

Draco sighed and began to shuffle slowly behind Hermione. Hermione smirked and turned sharply down an aisle, increasing her pace. "You have to keep up!" she called out. Hermione's smile broadened as she heard Draco start to jog behind her, trying to catch up.  

* * *

_I can't believe I have to have the Mudblood help me_, Draco thought as he struggled to keep up with Hermione. It was no easy task when Hermione kept on quickly turning down different aisles and changing directions. Draco was glad he couldn't see the smirk that he knew was on her face. 

            Suddenly Hermione came to a dead stop at the end of one row of shelves and Draco plowed into her from behind.

"Oomph!" Draco said as he quickly tried to pull back and regain his balance. "Sorry," they both muttered quickly.

Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise and shot a glance at Hermione's face. She was frowning and chewing her lip in concentration, oblivious to Draco's slip of politeness. Hermione was squinting at the call numbers and letters scratched on parchment on the end of the bookshelf. "Here," she muttered as she started off down yet another aisle. Draco followed closely behind her. He watched in amusement as Hermione's eyes darted across the dusty volumes as she walked slowly between the shelves. 

"You mean to say you don't already know?" Draco asked quietly, a smirk playing across his face.

"Know what?" Hermione asked distractedly.

"What Larry is," Draco replied simply.

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face Draco. A smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth. Draco realized his mistake.

"Larry? You named it? You named it_… Larry_?" The giggles escaped Hermione's throat and her hand shot up to cover her mouth. She was turning red with the effort to keep quiet.

"Well I couldn't just keep calling him 'Fuzzball' now, could I?" Draco asked indignantly.

Hermione's eyes widened and she began to shake with silent laughter.

"You," she managed to gasp out, "You called it 'Fuzzball' too? That's… that's just so cute!" Hermione kept on laughing until she saw the look of shock on Draco's face.

"_Cute_?!" Draco asked as he stood up straight. "Draco Malfoy is not… _cute_."

This only made Hermione laugh harder. Her long curly hair shook as she leaned against the bookshelf, struggling to hold her laughter inside. "You…," she said as the laughter began to subside, "You speak about yourself in the third person too."

"Anyway," Hermione said, wiping at her eyes, "I didn't say _you_ were cute, it's just that I had been calling it a fuzzball, too."

"So you really don't know what it is?" Draco asked, glad that the topic of conversation was no longer his cuteness, "I thought you knew everything."

Hermione smiled broadly, and Draco realized that to Hermione's mind that had qualified as a compliment.

"I don't know what 'Larry' _is_," Hermione replied, letting a half-smile creep onto her face, "but, I know where to look."

Hermione started back down the aisle, her fingers trailing across the books. Draco was shocked to realize that he found this action seductive, and he stumbled backwards a step. 

"Come on, Draco," Hermione said over her shoulder without glancing away from the books, "I realize you've never been in the library before, but it's really not a scary place. The books don't bite… well, most of them anyway…"

Draco was grateful that Hermione was so focused on the books that she couldn't see him fiercely blushing. He wished she would stop letting her fingers slide gracefully across the thick volumes. It was such a simple unconscious act, but Draco couldn't pull his gaze away.

Draco let out his breath in a whoosh as Hermione's hand stopped on one heavy book and pulled it from the shelf. Hermione began muttering to herself as she flipped open the book, "Now he's nowhere in our textbook, because I would know if he was." Draco struggled to keep his breathing normal as Hermione slid her slender fingers down the table of contents in the book. To distract himself, Draco searched for the title of the book in Hermione's hands. _Her slender hands… Stop it!! _Draco found the title: "_Magical Creatures of the Mid-Northern Hemisphere_". 

"Ah," Hermione muttered as she began to flip through the pages. She walked slowly down the aisle and set the heavy volume down on a small table at the end of the shelf. She pulled out one of the two chairs and plopped down. Draco stood awkwardly next to the other chair for a moment before deciding to sit down, too. He gazed at the pages slipping between Hermione's fingers. Draco sighed as her fingers became blessedly still on a page with the words "Small Mammals" in green lettering at the top. 

It was only then that Draco remembered Larry. He had been awfully quiet since lunch. Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out the furry creature. Larry wasn't moving at all, but he wasn't sleeping. His bright violet eyes had a droopy look to them, and his little feet hung limply in the air. Draco let out a concerned-sounding "Oh!", which made Hermione glance up from her search.

"Ooooh," she cooed, "the poor little guy looks sick!" Hermione reached for Larry, but Draco was reluctant to let him go. But when Hermione began to slide her fingers through Larry's soft fur, Draco quickly shoved the fuzzball into her hands. 

"He… he wouldn't eat anything," Draco said quietly.

"I know, I saw you," Hermione whispered softly as she gazed into Larry's eyes with concern. "Well, if we can find out what he is, we can find out what he eats," She said, handing Larry back to Draco. She went back to flipping through the pages. Draco glanced at the pictures as the pages turned swiftly between Hermione's fingers. 

"There!" they both shouted suddenly as the page turned to reveal a picture of a creature just like Larry.

Hermione began to read aloud the script on the page: "'Pidwink. Found mostly in Northern Ireland.'"

"Hey, you came quite a ways, didn't you little buddy?" Draco asked, gazing into Larry's eyes.

Hermione continued: "'The Pidwink is a small, furry purple or green creature with large purple or green eyes and small, tan four-toed feet…' blah, blah, blah. We already know that…. Oh, here: 'Diet: The Pidwink can survive on a diet of Fozwonk leaves, but its favorite meal is owl meat..."

Draco and Hermione gasped. "_Owl_ meat?!" they cried in unison.

 "Draco!" Hermione hissed, "What were you thinking, bringing that into school?! Hogwarts is full of owls!"

"I know!" Draco hissed back, "But I didn't know he would eat owls! He doesn't exactly look harmless!" As if to prove the point, Larry yawned.

"You have to give him over to Dumbledore, Draco," Hermione stated firmly.

"No way! Larry can eat some, Fuzzbonk leaves, or whatever the book said."

Hermione allowed herself to laugh. "Fozwonk leaves. But Draco, those leaves are really rare, and they aren't used in many potions. I know for a fact that Professor Sprout only has three of the plants… oops."

Draco had a broad, toothy grin on his face. Hermione noticed, not for the first time, that Draco's canines looked an awful lot like little fangs.

"Well," Draco said, running his hand over Larry's fur, "we'll just have to, er, _borrow_ some then, won't we?"

"We? What's this 'we' business?" Hermione asked, waving her hands in front of her.

"You're going to help," Draco replied, grinning. He suddenly switched his expression to one of mock-sadness. "You don't want little Larry to die, do you?" Draco was sticking out his lower lip and gazing sadly into Larry's eyes. "Besides, if I have to feed him owls, that white mass of feathers that belongs to Potter is going first."

Hermione shot forward in her chair. "You wouldn't!"

Draco grinned again. "Or perhaps that annoying little thing that flutters around Weasley all the time. What's that stupid name he calls it? Cow?"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "Pig," she corrected. She muttered something under her breath, but Draco only caught, "…can't stay mad…". 

"Well, I'm going to have to do it tonight, look at him, he's so sick…" Draco rubbed his hand over Larry's head once more and carefully slipped him back into his pocket.

"So, are you going to help me?" Draco asked. Hermione nervously chewed her lip. Draco was surprised that she hadn't flat-out denied him. "Larry's going to die if he doesn't eat, and I don't know what this plant looks like…"

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. "Fine," she whispered.

Draco flashed his grin again. "Right, meet me tonight at the front door at, say, midnight?"

Hermione appeared to have a struggle going on inside her. She was fighting with the pity she felt for Larry and the fact that she would have to break the rules to save him. "Alright," she whispered as she closed the book and pulled it close to her body. "But not to help you," she stated, avoiding his eyes, "to help Larry."

"Right," Draco said, still grinning. He started off down the aisle, but only made it halfway before stopping to turn around. "Erm, I don't know how to get out of here…"

Hermione smiled. "You really never _have_ been to the library, have you Draco?"

"Well, not _this_ one," Draco murmured. "I _do_ read, you know," Draco spoke up. Hermione raised her eyebrows slightly. Draco found it odd that he felt he had to prove to the Mudblood that he wasn't stupid. Hermione began to lead Draco out of the library. "What _do_ you read?" she asked, finding it odd that she cared. 

"Not these books," he answered quietly, and then clarified, "I mean I don't read 'study' books." Hermione laughed softly. "So you read… fiction?" she asked. "Mm-hm…" he answered distractedly. Hermione was running her fingers along the edges of the books again.

"Right," said Hermione. She could tell he didn't really want to talk about the books he read after all. "We'd better get to class… You have Potions next, don't you?"

Draco murmured an affirmative response. 

"So do I."  
            Hermione's fingers were driving Draco mad. He quickened his pace and began to walk next to her, forcing Hermione to drop her fingers to her side. "If something is wrong with Larry, you'll let me know, won't you?" She asked.

Draco looked into her face. Hermione looked genuinely worried for the little creature. "Why do you care so much?" Draco asked.

"I don't want him to die," Hermione replied without a pause, "and neither do you. But he looks so sick…"

Draco smirked. "All you girls are alike. Trying to play mother to any cute little thing that comes along."

Hermione smiled, "I guess so…"

They had reached the main desk at the front of the library, and Madame Pince was now busily sorting books onto a small rack. Draco glanced once more into Hermione's eyes and quickly made his exit. Hermione stayed behind to check out the book. Draco's boots squeaked as he shuffled to open the heavy doors, and he saw Madame Pince glance curiously in his direction. Once in the hallway, Draco put his hand inside his inner pocket and softly rubbed Larry's fur. Larry let out a small, sorry-sounding sigh and softly nuzzled Draco's hand._ I hope he can make it til midnight…_

* * *

tbc

Okay, that came out longer than I thought, but I wanted to get to the "Pidwink" part. Alright, thanks again to all of you who reviewed! Love you all! I found it funny that more than one of you thought Larry reminded you of a Furby. I actually have a Furby, but he's blue, and I hadn't even thought of him when thinking of Larry. Cool. But Larry doesn't sit up like furbies do, he's down on all fours. In my mind he's really just a soft purple hedgehog. Anyway. Thanks for reviewing, please review again. Everyone else, please REVIEW for the first time! Tell me what you honestly think. ^_^

But Siriusly


	6. Chapter Six: My, My, Master Malfoy

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter World. Larry the Purple Pidwink belongs to me.

A/N: Thank you to all of my lovely reviewers! I love you forever! I have drawn a picture of what Larry looks like, but the light bulb in my scanner is busted. I'll see if I can scan it at school. Anyway, here's Chapter six. I meant to post it on Saturday but I couldn't wait.

Chapter Six: My, My, Master Malfoy

            Draco lay awake in his four-poster bed. The thick green curtains were closed but a sliver of pale moonlight snaked through a crack between them. Draco sighed deeply and felt the weight on his chest that was Larry rise and fall. The poor little creature had only gotten worse as the day wore on. He had laid entirely still all through Potions class. Draco had caught Hermione staring at him apprehensively more than once. Draco was a bit surprised to find that he and Hermione also shared their last class: Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had returned to teach the class again this year. As Draco thought of this he glanced uneasily at the moonbeam that slid across his legs. Draco had long had suspicions about the man and how he was always "sick" around the same time of the month; at the full moon. _Must be cramps_, Draco thought, smirking. Dark Arts had gone by without a hitch, but Draco had half-hoped that Larry would squeak, at least that would have been a sign that he was okay. Now the fuzzball was curled peacefully against Draco's chest and making squeaky-snoring noises.

            Draco glanced at his silver watch. Dark green smoke swirled stormily beneath the glass and the time flashed like bright green lightning across the center. 11:48. Draco carefully scooped up the sleeping Larry from his chest, trying not to arouse him. As Draco stood up the little creature rolled over in his hands and sighed, but stayed asleep. Draco slipped through the curtains and dropped the Pidwink into his pocket_. To think it was only last night that I found him,_ Draco thought as he crept quietly to the door. _Well_, he thought as he made his way down the stairway and through the common room, _Here I go again…_

* * * 

Draco was leaning casually against the wall in the corner near the front door. It was five minutes after midnight: Hermione was late. _You'd think Little Miss Perfect would be on time_, Draco thought as he checked his well-manicured nails for dirt. Then a horrible thought flitted across his mind: _She's not coming. She's set me up and Filch will jump around the corner any minute, grab me by the ear and drag me straight to the Headmaster_. Draco stopped rubbing his nails and peered nervously down the hall. His body stiffened as he heard a soft scraping sound. A footstep. The sound had been close-by. Draco scanned the dark hallway with his eyes, searching for any sign that someone was approaching. He stood completely still and silence seemed to ring in his ears.

"…_Boo!_"

Someone had whispered in his ear. Draco nearly jumped out of his skin and slid quickly sideways along the wall, his eyes darting around for the source of the disembodied voice. The giggling was a dead give-away.

"Hermione! Where are you?" Draco hissed into the emptiness. Suddenly Hermione's grinning face shimmered into view inches from Draco. He watched in amazement as the rest of her body appeared out of nowhere.

"What… how?" Draco whispered. Then he saw the silvery cloak hanging from Hermione's hand. "You have an invisibility cloak?! How did you ever get one! You're a muggle-born…"

"You say it like it's a bad thing," Hermione said, placing one hand on her hip. "Anyway it's not mine, I borrowed it from a friend."

Well that would mean Potter or Weasley. Weasley certainly can't afford one so it would have to be…

"Potter?" Suddenly it all made sense to Draco. "Oooooh…"

"What are you 'Oooooh'ing about?" Hermione asked, mocking his tone and waving her hands in the air.

"Third year -- Hogsmeade, the mud… ah nevermind…" Draco replied, running a slender hand through his hair. Hermione smirked at him knowingly.

Draco collected himself. "Alright then, let's go." Hermione pulled up the invisibility cloak and started to pull half of it over her head. She held the other half out beside her with one long, slender arm. Draco stood staring at her. "What?" He asked. 

"Come on," Hermione replied a bit impatiently, "do you want to be seen or not?" Draco eyed her suspiciously.

"You mean we can both fit under there?" He asked.

"Yep, I've done it before. Come on, if I have to break the rules I refuse to get caught."

Draco glanced at Hermione's fingers holding the edge of the cloak near his shoulder. He sighed and ducked down next to her, staying as far away from her as possible. Hermione put her arm down across Draco's back.

"You have to get in closer, your side is sticking out." Hermione told him. Draco looked over and saw the disturbing sight of his arm suspended in mid-air. He quickly scooted in next to Hermione. _She smells like lavender_, Draco thought, _or is that the cloak? Hmm…_

As Hermione slid her arm across Draco's back and to her side, Draco stuck his pointed nose against the folds of cloak over his face_. Ew, nope, definitely not…_ He turned his head and sniffed Hermione's abundance of curly hair that spilled across his shoulder. _Ah, that's it._

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked curiously.

Draco met her eyes and was momentarily speechless. _What exactly in God's name AM I doing? _Draco thought incredulously. "It's just…" he started, "…this nasty old cloak, it smells musty."

Hermione scowled. "It was Harry's father's," she whispered.

"What, was he buried in it?" Draco asked with a disgusted look on his face.

Hermione's scowl deepened. "Don't even joke about that Draco. There weren't any pieces left to bury, you know that." Draco could see that he had upset her, and his insides squirmed with discomfort.

"I'm sorry," he whispered before thinking.

Hermione's eyes widened. "You are?" Hermione's amber eyes narrowed as she searched Draco's silver ones. "My, my, Master Malfoy, was that a bit of compassion I saw slip out of you? I think little Larry has softened you up."

Draco scowled indignantly. "Speaking of little Larry, he's awfully hungry for some Fuzzbonk leaves," he said, purposely trying to lighten the mood.

"Fozwonk," Hermione corrected him. "Alright, now let's go."

Draco sighed as Hermione began to walk forward. He realized that he would have to keep pace with her and quickly shuffled his feet to match her steps. Draco glanced over his shoulder once more to check for Filch as Hermione slowly pulled the door open.

* * *

The pair crept silently across the moonlit lawn towards to greenhouses at the corner of the building.

"Which one is it?" Draco whispered.

"That third one there," Hermione replied, her voice even more quiet than Draco's.

Hermione stepped boldly up to the door and pulled her wand out of her pocket. "Alohomora," she whispered. Together the two young wizards sidled into the greenhouse. Hermione pulled the cloak off of them both and hung it on a hook near the door.

"Done this before?" Draco asked as he raised one eyebrow at Hermione. She only smiled and turned to gaze at a row of plants next to her.

"We have to be careful, these are some of Professor Sprout's rarest plants. And strangest…" Hermione was eyeing a thick orange plant that was oozing blue blobs of liquid down its leaves. 

"So where's the Fuzzbonk?" Draco asked.

Hermione half-smiled. "I'm not sure, but I know what it looks like." She straightened up and looked Draco in the eye. "It's a green plant with little star-shaped purple flowers sprouting out of the top. The ends of the leaves are all frayed-looking, like fringe." Draco suddenly felt like he was the student and Hermione was lecturing him. She continued, "You start on that side, and I'll start over here." She pointed across a long center table to an aisle on the other side. "Let's not use our wands for light, the moonlight is enough."

"Okay…" Draco couldn't think of anything else to say. He was used to being the one to take charge. Hermione leaned back over the table on her side, gazing closely at the odd assortment of plants. Draco shuffled around the center table, tugging on his cloak as it caught the edge. He looked down at the task before him.

Plants such as Draco had never seen were sprawled randomly across the table. There was a bright yellow one that had millions of tiny orange hairs across its leaves. Another blue one had what appeared to be purple feathers sprouting out of its base. Draco shuffled slowly down the aisle, searching for a green plant. A fire-red plant caught his eye. It had a long slender stem and a thick round growth at the top. There were little black spikes hanging across the seam of the head of the plant, and Draco thought they looked suspiciously like teeth.

"Erm, Hermione?" Draco asked uneasily. "Are any of these plants, well, dangerous?"

Hermione peered across the center table at Draco, glancing down at his plant. "Yes, I suppose so. Just don't get too close to them. The ones that bite should be sleeping anyway." She returned to her search.

_Should be…_ Draco thought as he quickly shuffled away from the black-toothed plant. Draco stopped abruptly when he came across a green plant. It had long green leaves that ended in soft fringe and little purple balls stuck out from tendrils at the top. "Hey Hermione," Draco whispered excitedly, "is this it?" Hermione turned around and leaned over the center work table to get a closer look at the plant.

"Hmmm, no, but close. The little things at the ends of the tendrils should be star-shaped, not balls. That plant is called Fourwank."

Draco smirked, "Four-_wank_?! What kind of pervert named that plant?"

Hermione scowled but a grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Malfoy," she said, rolling her eyes.

Draco laughed under his breath and kept on searching. A few plants down from the Fourwank, Draco spied one that looked similar. He checked it out thoroughly; he wanted to be right this time. _Fringed leaves, purple star-shaped thingies on tendrils, green, yeah that's gotta be it._ "Hermione, I think I found it!"

Hermione leaned back over. Her face lit up. "Yeah, Draco, you did!"

Draco beamed proudly.

There were three of the plants clustered closely together but in separate pots. Draco picked one up and pulled it under his arm. Hermione was making her way back down along the work table to the door. At the end of the table, she began to clear off a space, shoving gloves and trowels aside.

"Here," she said, "take Larry and set him down here. Let's see if we can get him to eat now."

Draco set down his plant and carefully pulled the sleeping Pidwink out of his pocket. Hermione watched curiously, the moonlight glinting off her eyes. Draco set the fuzzball down next to the plant as Hermione plucked a few leaves off of it. Larry was sound asleep. Draco poked Larry's belly with one finger and the little creature squirmed awake. 

"Here, little guy," Hermione prodded, holding a Fozwonk leaf under Larry's nose. Larry's sleepy eyes snapped to attention when he saw the leaf. He let out a squeal of joy and pulled the leaf into his little paws. Draco and Hermione laughed with delight as Larry sat back in his hind legs and chewed quickly on the leaf.

"He looks like a hamster or something," Draco laughed.

Hermione sighed with relief. Larry had already devoured the leaf and was searching for another one. Draco handed it to him. "Good thing this plant has lots of leaves," Draco said.

Hermione beamed down at the happy little creature. "He's gonna be okay!" She said happily.

Draco ran his fingers through Larry's fur. Keeping his gaze on the Pidwink, he said quietly, "Thank you, Hermione."

Hermione grinned and stared at the side of Draco's head. She found herself entranced with a lock of silver hair that curled under his ear. The moonlight shone on his grey eyelashes as he blinked down at his little creature. 

"Anytime, Draco…" She replied. Draco's gaze shifted to Hermione's hand, which was now softly fingering Larry's fur as well. He stared as her thumb ran the fur between her slender fingers. Hermione noticed Draco's gaze, and her hand became still. Draco shifted his eyes up to Hermione's face and he stared into her eyes. Both of them were holding their breath. 

Suddenly Hermione gasped, breaking the silence. Draco tore his gaze away and stared at a spot of dirt on the table.

"We'd better, go ba…" Hermione started.  
            "Yeah," Draco cut her off. He reached to pick up Larry, and found that the little creature was sitting quite still, glancing curiously back and forth between Draco and Hermione. "Come on, fuzzball," Draco muttered, "Bedtime."

Hermione already had the cloak in her hand as Draco scooped up Larry from the table. He started to walk towards the door but Hermione stopped him. "Don't forget the Fuzzbonk," she started, but then faltered, "I mean,… oh now you've got me calling it that!" Hermione appeared flustered and shook her head in exasperation. Draco let out a short laugh and reached back for the plant. He pulled out the end of the invisibility cloak and ducked under it. Hermione ducked in beside him. Two wizards, one "Fuzzbonk" plant, and one happy little Pidwink made their way quietly across the lawn and back into the school.

* * *

 tbc

A/N: Alrighty, there you have it. See how quickly I updated this time? That probably won't happen often, so take it as a special treat! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I like how you all say my story is cute, cuz I just love cute things, case ya didn't notice. Man, you Draco lovers are vicious! Bashing poor Harry and Ron. Well whatever, lol. I personally love Harry and Ron… and Draco. I just wanna cuddle up with all three of 'em. Whoa, did I just say that? Heh… anyway, REVIEW! ß (quick change of subject, that…)

Love always,

But Siriusly


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